Genius Hidden in the Leaves
by TheAister
Summary: Another day, another prank. The only difference is this time, the resident genius Nara Shikaku sits in on Naruto explaining how he did it to the Sandaime Hokage which leads to some startling truths.
1. Genius

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!"

Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen tore his attention away from Jonin Commander Nara Shikaku as the doors to his office slammed open under the force of a couple of ANBU, his protesting assistant trailing behind them and sputtering apologies for her inability to stop the masked shinobi from barging in.

Raising his eyebrow at this sudden and most inappropriate interruption, Hiruzen fixed a stern glare upon the ANBU, causing them to pause as they seemed to suddenly realise they had completely breached protocol by barging in as they had. A second later, both of the Hokage's eyebrows shot up as he took in their appearance.

"We apologise for the interruption Hokage-sama" said the ANBU on the left, a man wearing a mask in the likeness of an otter and covered, head to toe, in gliterring pink dust. "But _he_ has gone too far this time!"

The ANBU did not need to explain who _he_ was.

Sighing inwardly to himself, Hiruzen knew there was only one possible person who could possibly have done this.

"And what, do tell, has _he_ done this time?" the Hokage asked, waving his hand to dismiss his still protesting assistant.

The question seemed to arouse unease from the two ANBU as they fidgeted nervously for a second before the heretofore silent ANBU, bearing a mask in the likeness of a Jackal answered, the ANBU's nervousness explained.

" _He_... Set off a localized powder bomb in ANBU headquarters, covering the general ops room in pink glitter dust during a general assembly of most of Konoha's ANBU," Jackal replied, her voice sounding unsure. "Teams Six and Nine are in pursuit right now."

It was then that the other inhabitant chose to speak up.

"You mean to say there are currently **eight** ANBU in pursuit of **one** child? While they are covered in _pink glitter dust_?" Shikaku asked, disbelief coloring his voice. "And how did he even find the location of ANBU headquarters? Even I don't know its location!"

Before anyone in the room could reply, an orange and yellow streak seemed to rocket into the room from the window between the Hokage and Jonin Commander, instantly causing all ANBU in the room, both pink and previously hidden to jump into ready stances, weapons half-drawn. The blur slowed down into a tumbled roll before springing to his feet at the peak of the roll with his arms raised high and a large toothy grin covering his face. He was followed a few heartbeats later by five **pink** blurs as the ANBU in pursuit zoomed in on his location.

"Stand down!" Hiruzen commanded, not just of the ANBU but the hyper-ball of energy that was Naruto.

The ANBU in the room immediately snapped to attention while Naruto just seemed to slouch in place, bringing his arms up to lace his fangers behind his head as he continued to grin.

Before Hiruzen could say anything else, however, he noticed Shikaku gesturing with his fingers, communicating in the special hand-sign language that was unique to the Hokage and senior commanders of the village. Intrigued, Hiruzen nodded his head in acquiescence and commanded the ANBU to give their report of the situation.

A tall ANBU wearing the mask of a bear stepped forward, trying to look as dignified as one could covered in pink glitter and spoke firmly.

"Reproting; at 1303 hours today, ANBU headquarters was infiltrated by Uzumaki Naruto who proceeded to general assembly hall number four to plant a localized glitter dust bomb located in the rafters. At 1310 hours, the monthly ANBU general assembly began, topics of discussion are classified. At 1317 hours, a loud bang echoed through the hall and, before anyone could respond, half the hall was covered in the pink dust whereupon ANBU located within the hall spied Uzumaki laughing from the ceiling before making his escape through a ventilation shaft. Teams Six and Nine proceeded to capture Uzumaki for interrogation…"

The ANBU's report was interrupted when Shikaku again spoke up.

"An ANBU cell consists of four members each and yet, I only see five of the eight people dispatched, where are the rest?"

Bear shifted nervously, causing both the Hokage and Shikaku to wonder exactly what had happened that was causing so much discomfort to the village's elite assassination and tactical unit.

"We lost one pursuer near the Akimichi Clan Compound as he was involved in an unfortunate tussle with several Akimichi clan members as they were attempting to enter a local barbecue restaurant."

The Hokage and Shikaku both winced at that. Everyone knew to never get between an Akimichi and food and, most especially, not between several and food.

"The other two were…" Bear's voice dropped to a barely audible mumble.

"What was that?" The Hokage asked, frowning at the actions of his ANBU. Perhaps retraining was necessary.

"The other two were…" Bear trailed off before sighing. "Were caught in a melee with the inhabitants of the hotspring when we were tricked into cutting across it to head off Uzumaki."

Hiruzen rubbed his temples as he could feel a headache coming on. Bad enough that an ANBU was caught in a tussle with members of one of Konoha's clan but that two were removed from the equation because of perceived perverseness at the hotspring did not bode well for his sanity.

The paperwork involved was going to be immense.

Drawing his pipe from a drawer, Hiruzen lit it and took a long draw before releasing a puff of smoke to calm himself down. The day had started with such promise and now, he was left to once again clean up the ensuing mess of Naruto and his pranks. He was still intrigued by what Shikaku had communicated as well. Casting his glance at the aforementioned man, Shikaku nodded his head once before turning his attention back to the blonde prankster.

"ANBU, you are dismissed and any actions taken against Uzumaki Naruto in retaliation is strictly prohibited," Hiruzen stated, his tone of voice brooking no argument.

"Hai Hokage-sama!" The involved ANBU replied, some sounding downright sullen, before they shunshin'd out of the room.

"Now, Shikaku, you said you wished to bring something up in private between the boy and myself," Hiruzen stated, looking between the bearded man who was staring intently at Naruto and the boy himself, who was still grinning as if he did not have care in the world. Hiruzen recognized the look on Shikaku's face as the look of a genius trying to solve a puzzle.

After a scant few seconds of silence, Shikaku turned his attention back to the Hokage and gestured once more with his fingers indicating that he wanted to ask Naruto a few questions uninterrupted. The Hokage narrowed his eyes for a second before nodding fractionally to indicate he understood.

"Naruto," Shikaku began, drawing the boy's attention away from whatever was running through his mind as Naruto cracked an eye open to look at the man. "I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind me asking, about your most marvelous prank."

Naruto, unused to being praised for his troublemaking, dropped both his hands from behind his head as he crossed his arms and regarded Shikaku with wary caution lighting his eyes. Hiruzen, so unused at this seemingly cautious side of Naruto, widened his eyes at the uncharacteristic display. Without saying a word, Naruto nodded his head once to show he understood.

"My first question is how did you find ANBU headquarters?" Shikaku asked.

"Ano sa, ano sa, it wasn't that difficult to tell you the truth," Naruto replied, causing both adults to raise inquiring brows. Naruto proceeded to walk over to a map pinned to one of the walls of the Hokage's office and proceeded to point out various locations while speaking. "The headquarters of the super-duper secret mask wearing people can't be in this section because both the white eyed and red eyed people are here. I don't know much about them but I do know their eyes gives them creepy powers that allows them to see things others can't so it's probably safe to think that a super secret organization wouldn't be hiding around there.

"Konoha stadium is in this section and even if it makes sense since not many people go there, it would also not make sense because not many people go there.

"They can't be past the stadium because they're supposed to protect Jiji over there so they can't be too far away and even for their super-fast legs, running all the way here would take too long and they can't be in this area because there are too many training grounds which would make them easy to spot. Know all these things, all I had to do was look around the other places."

Both the Hiruzen and Shikaku frowned at his answer. While circular in logic in some parts, they couldn't fault the logic which, considering the provider, was shocking. Naruto wasn't known as the dead last without reason.

"Continuing on," Shikaku said as he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Did you pick today in particular or was it just a random day you chose."

Looking at Shikaku in what could only be described as pitying, Naruto replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Every month, there is an influx of shinobis who return from missions **after** an ad in the local newspaper says there is a sale at Hirugash Weapons Store. I thought was a simple spelling mistake at first since there **is** a Higurashi Weapons Store but **no** Hirugashi Weapons Store. If I was a store owner, I would want to make sure my store name is written correctly so, after the third time, I started to think it was on purpose.

After that, it's easy enough to check the mission board and see that there is a pattern to the names attached. All I had to do was check the board to see when shinobis came back and when there was a sale. Not many people know who these returning shinobis are or what they do so it wasn't hard to guess that they were involved in some secret thing or another."

Once again inwardly shocked in the simplistic way in which Naruto had decoded one of the most kept secret of Konoha, Hiruzen made a mental note to immediately review all ANBU procedures in the very near future.

Seated across from him, Shikaku was mentally rearranging facts inside his head as he analyzed what Naruto had said. Things that this boy had done seemingly because he was bored that had unraveled several well established secret keeping procedures indicated something that he was finding increasingly likely.

Asking several more questions, Shikaku found them to be less enlightening until he reached his last question of the day.

"How did you plan your escape?"

"Aha, that was the funny part, I didn't!" Naruto said as he grinned and swiped at his nose mischievously.

"So, the part where you took three ANBU out of the chase was luck?"

"Mmm, kind of. I mean I already knew that the shaft I took lead to the base of the Hokage Monument, near those old ruined buildings that everyone avoids so I was way ahead of the ANBU, from there, I figured out the time based on the sun then led them to the Akimichi place since I know there were bound to be Akimichi heading for lunch and **everyone** knows not to get between an Akimichi and food and I figured the secret people would be too busy trying to get me to notice who the people there were.

"I also knew I had to get here because Jiji would stop those mean secret people from doing anything too bad to me so I cut across towards to white eyed people's house then circled around once I got past the hotsprings. They rotate the genders every third week and since these people had not been back since before the last rotation, I guessed they would mix up the sides and cause a commotion!"

Shikaku sat back in his seat as he contemplated Naruto's answers. It was becoming harder and harder to deny the one thing that he could gleam from all this. Naruto possessed superior information gathering and analysis skills, top-notch improvisational awareness and out of the box thinking and a keen intellect under all that to keep it tied together. The one word that kept popping up in Shikaku's brain was a term his clan had often been branded with.

Genius.

"Well, this is troublesome."

* * *

 **AN: Not sure if this is something I will continue or not but just an idea that popped into my head.**


	2. The Hyuuga Affair

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I've messed around with the timeline a bit so things make more sense. In this case, Naruto and Hinata are 8ish at the time of this incident rather than 3.

 **Chapter 2: The Hyuuga Incident**

The sun was just beginning to dip beyond the horizon when he walked into the bar. Despite the early hour, the building was already full to brimming with the miners that populated the area.

"JI!" The many patrons of the bar roared in greeting as he shuffled through the crowds towards the barkeep. Pausing briefly to make small talk here and there, Ji spied a familiar figure and he slid into the seat next to the person.

The person seated next to him slowly raised his half-filled glass of amber liquid in a silent salute before bringing it to his mouth, taking slow sips. The person's eyes made the briefest of twitches towards the tiny, well-hidden scroll resting behind the bottle seated on the bar top.

Ji rubbed his forehead in mock fatigue as he surreptitiously glanced around before he discreetly rested his hand on the tiny scroll while leaning forward to shout his order to the barkeep. Ensuring that no one was watching him, Ji carefully slid the tiny scroll into the hidden pocket of his sleeve before leaning back to enjoy the evening.

It was hours later before he finally got a chance to read the message within the scroll and his eyes widened slightly before he frowned thoughtfully.

"Come back," It read. "The situation has changed."

* * *

Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen laid down the latest report from SENBU and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The last week and a half had not been good on his nerves and he was most definitely feeling every bit his age.

Deciding that a break was in order, he pulled open the top drawer of his desk and reached for his pipe. Perhaps a good smoke might help relieve the tension.

Hiruzen was just about to place the heated end of a lighted stick into the bowl when he suddenly whirled around and hurled his it at the window.

"Woah, woah, woah," The figure in the window shouted as he fell outwards to avoid getting hit by the lighter, a distinct thud the only evidence that he had either landed on or hit the ledge beneath the window. With the speed with which the toad sage reappeared in the window, Hiruzen was inclined to believe the former rather than the latter.

"Jiraiya…" Hiruzen frowned as he settled back into his seat. "How many times have I told you not to sneak in via the window?"

"Sorry Sensei," Jiraiya murmured as he shuffled embarrassedly, acting more like the little Genin that he had been rather than one of the most powerful and feared ninjas in the Elemental Nations.

 _"Still got it."_ Hiruzen thought smugly to himself as he smothered his grin and waited for Jiraiya to gather himself.

"So," Jiraiya began, finally, as he slid into a chair facing his teacher. "What has Naruto done this time?"

Hiruzen reclined in his seat as he gathered his thoughts, unsure of exactly where to begin his tale. Jiraiya continued to regard Hiruzen, a dozen scenarios popping into existence in his head as he attempted to pre-empt the Hokage.

Finally gathering his thoughts, Hiruzen began to speak. "It really began about two weeks ago…"

* * *

Two Weeks Prior –

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, God of Shinobi fidgeted in his robes as he once again re-read the contents of the letter in front of him. When his assistant had brought in the daily reports and missives, the envelope sealed with black wax was most definitely something he was not expecting.

Used extensively during the Third Shinobi World War, black wax envelopes denoted the confidential communique between one kage to another without fear of reprisal or denunciation. It was often used as a ransom note and, some of the time, a way to form secret alliances.

That a relic from the previous war was being used during peacetime caused a pit of anxiety to form inside Hiruzen's gut.

The pit was eased, however, when Hiruzen had opened it and studied its contents. The seal had depicted the emblem of Kumo so the Hokage was already expecting a missive from the Raikage. What he had not expected, however, was that the letter would contain a treaty proposing the formation of an alliance between Konoha and Kumo.

Kumo had always been one of Konoha's biggest adversaries, most especially during the Third Shinobi World War where Konoha and Kumo shinobi clashed mercilessly.

Hiruzen gnawed on his lower lip, a terrible habit that he would never admit to owning, as he considered the situation. The Sandaime Raikage, A, was notorious for being a hardline fanatic who believed absolutely in the right of power. That such a person would seek to propose an alliance instilled both a sense of hope and a sense of dread in the Hokage's heart.

While the Raikage's motives were suspect, the treaty itself was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. If peace could truly be achieved between the two warring villages, it would be well worth a shot.

His mind made up, Hiruzen reached into one of the drawers of his desk and withdrew and old, weathered box that he promptly set on his desk. Opening it, the Hokage produced an aged set of implements that he would use to send his reply to the Raikage.

Once he had penned a proper reply and sealed it inside a similar envelope, sealed with black wax, the Hokage motioned for one of his ANBU to take the letter and ensure that it was properly delivered. Once the ANBU had left on his task, Hiruzen called for his assistant to prepare for the imminent arrival for Kumogakure's Head Ninja.

"Perhaps the Hyuuga would host the ambassador…" Hiruzen mused silently. "They are, after all, one of Konaha's most noble of clans."

* * *

One Week Later –

There was much fanfare as the Kumogakure Head Ninja's procession marched through the main street of Konoha as civilians were cheering and clamoring to witness a historic moment.

The Head Ninja sat smugly on his mount as he continued down the main thoroughfare as his mind turned quickly towards the plan.

He had to admit that the Raikage's plan was deviously well thought out.

An occasion such as this demanded that a noble clan of Konoha would play host to the delegates from Kumo and, of the four noble clans of Konoha, the Hyuuga were far and away the most prominent of the noble clans. It was likely that the Hokage would choose the Hyuuga for the prestige of cementing the alliance between Kumo and Konoha.

Following the signing of the treaty, there would be a party to celebrate and no matter the clan, a party with foreign dignitaries would be no place for young children. The intel that Kumo had was that the Hyuuga clan head had two young daughters. A shame as a son would have proven much more effective in generating a clan of Byakugan wielders for Kumo.

Daughters, however, would have to do. All he needed to do was provide a sufficient distraction and he would be able to steal one of the two and escape before anyone would notice. A simple Henge would suffice. Decorum would dictate that none of the Hyuuga would employ the Byakugan during the Head Ninja's stay and so would not see past the Henge until it was far too late.

Yes, the Head Ninja smirked; it would be all too easy.

* * *

Negotiations proceeded as one would have expected over the next couple of days.

To lend legitimacy to the proceedings, the Head Ninja played his role to perfection. He compromised when necessary and debated heatedly in favour of Kumo so as to not draw suspicion from the astute Hokage.

It would not do, after all, for the Konoha shinobi to realise the entire process to be a farce.

When all was said and done and the treaty was signed and sealed, the anticipated party was announced and the Kumo shinobi's plans were put into action.

Held in the main hall of the Hyuuga estate, the Kumo Head Ninja had requested a private affair between their most gracious hosts and his entourage. The less witnesses, the better.

The party continued well into the wee hours of the night, with even the ever stoic Hyuuga partaking in the festivities. After all, their role leading to a successfully negotiated peace treaty with Kumo would only serve to enhance their reputation.

None of the Hyuugas, however, realized that the true Head Ninja had been hidden away shortly after their arrival back at the Hyuuga compound. Duplicity was on the minds of only the Kumo shinobi.

"They've grown complacent in this peace," The Kumo shinobi thought in derision.

* * *

A figure dressed in dark clothing nimbly hopped up to the ridge of the roof and quickly looked around as he shifted from cradling his prize to slinging it over his shoulders.

Satisfied that no one had witnessed the abduction, the Kumo Head Ninja leapt from the roof onto the edge of the outer perimeter wall and onto the streets surrounding the Hyuuga compound. Everything was proceeding as planned, he simply had to make good on his escape.

He started running quickly towards one of the gates where Kumo agents were prepared to aid in his escape when he suddenly came to a halt. He twisted his head around quickly to throw a glare back at the Hyuuga mansion as he heard the telltale shouts of alarm.

His actions had been discovered.

Grunting in frustration, the ninja quickly began to make good on his escape but once again stopped short as the figure of the Hyuuga clan head landed from a jump in front of him.

Gritting his teeth, the Head Ninja prepared to take an alternative route to the extraction point when his jaw dropped involuntarily. Hyuuga Hiashi was covered head to toe in orange paint.

* * *

The Hyuuga clan head growled menacingly as he whipped his head about, determined to deal with the impudent whelp that was Uzumaki Naruto once and for all for this latest slight against the noblest Hyuuga clan.

It was then that he noticed the figure wrapped in black clothing, standing no more than ten feet away from him. Hiashi quickly deduced that this person was far too tall to be the Uzumaki brat but narrowed his eyes as he took in the stance and attire.

The black mission gear that the man wore was not entirely a cause for concern but the lack of an identifying Hitai-ate immediately set the Hyuuga on edge; this person, whoever it was, was on either a top elite assassin from within the village or an unsanctioned foreigner skulking about. Given the district that they were in, the Hyuuga decided on the latter.

Silently activating his Byakugan, Hiashi noticed the minute movements the man made as it became quickly apparent that his appearance had startled this mysterious operative. Straightening to face him fully, Hiashi was shocked when he saw beyond the black face mask the man was wearing to see the face of the Kumo Head Ninja.

Hiashi was certain that when he had left the main hall, the Head Ninja had been no more than five paces away, his face bearing a shell shocked look at the rather strange turn of events.

It was then that Hiashi noticed the most damning aspect of the Head Ninja. He was carrying something or… Someone, Hiashi realized as rage began to bubble inside him. The man was carrying his daughter!

Before he could begin to even process his thoughts, Hiashi charged towards the Kumo Head Ninja, the tips of his fingers alight with chakra.

The Hyuuga clan head's action spurred the Head Ninja into action as he quickly considered his options.

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the Head Ninja made to throw his load at the charging Hyuuga as he backed away from him when his left foot stepped onto something that squelched loudly but ignored it and quickly tossed the girl aside as he made his escape.

After ten minutes of hopping from rooftop to rooftop, the Head Ninja crouched behind a fixture on one of the many rooftops that made up the Konoha landscape.

Cursing silently, he quickly tried to pinpoint his location using the Hokage Monument and Hokage Tower as landmarks. He was certain that with the distraction of the falling Hyuuga girl, he had managed to escape beyond Hiashi's Byakugan range.

Crouching low once he was sure he knew roughly where he was within Konoha, the man noticed, for the first time, that his left boot was covered in sticky orange paint. With a growing sense of horror, the Head Ninja quickly peered back the way he had come and saw the very obvious trail of luminous orange footprints that outlined his route. Cursing once more, the man quickly reached down to throw off his boot before trying to escape once more when a shadow seemed to fall upon him.

Before he could even begin to look up, the figure that had appeared in front of him began to speak.

"You are within the field of my Divination!"

It was all over in a matter of seconds.

* * *

The usually stoic face of Hyuuga Hiashi was nowhere to be found as he paced the length of the Hokage's office in frustration and anger even as the many people within the office squabbled amongst themselves.

Growling in barely contained rage, he spun around to admonish all these imbeciles that somehow failed to comprehend the disaster that had befallen the Hyuuga clan. Did they not understand that there was more to the situation than just Konoha losing standing among the other nations as they viewed them with distrust? Did they not realise that there were lives at stake?

The days following the untimely death of the Kumo Head Ninja had been a tense affair. All of Kumo's remaining delegates had been immediately carted off to the secret dungeons of the Torture and Interrogation division.

In a move that clearly outlined how closely the Raikage had been following abortive mission, an emissary had arrived in Konoha barely a day later to demand the release of his delegates, claiming that Konoha had imprisoned them without provocation.

The deviousness of the Raikage's was laid bare when he disavowed the Head Ninja's actions and claimed that Konoha had unlawfully slayed a ninja under his command when the man should have been captured and released to Kumo for justice.

In a stroke of terrible genius that furthered the indignation of the Konoha shinobi, the Raikage had then demanded the life of the Hyuuga clan leader as recompense for the Hyuuga's failure to adequately protect the Kumo ninja and their failure to return the man to Kumo alive.

This had led to the current situation of the Elders Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, Jonin Commander Nara Shikaku and the head of the Senryaku-Boei Bu (SENBU - Strategic Defense Unit), Rokusaburo Masaharu, each arguing for or against the various possible ways to mediate and resolve the current issue while the Hokage seemed to be lost deep in thought as he rested his chin over his steepled hands.

Before Hiashi could voice his frustrations over the continued bickering of the various members of the Hokage's Council, however, a loud knock caused the various individuals to immediately quieten down.

Looking up from his thoughts, the Hokage bade whoever was beyond the door to enter.

"Hokage-sama," The ANBU wearing a dolphin mask began, as he held the door open. "Per your orders, I have brought Uzumaki Naruto."

Behind him came Naruto, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and orange pants. He seemed wholly unconcerned to be in the same room as so many high ranking shinobi as he simply raised a hand and greeted the Hokage.

"Yo Jiji! Did you see my awesome prank on the white-eyes?"

The Elders bristled at the complete lack of respect that the boy was showing for the leader of their village and Koharu opened her mouth to rebuke him when a slight twitch of the Hokage's hand caused the elderly woman to close her mouth with an audible snap. Hiashi himself felt a vein on his forehead throb as the blonde spoke of his clan with such nonchalance.

"Naruto," The Hokage greeted as he motioned for the young boy to take the empty seat in front of his desk. "Thank you Dolphin, you are dismissed."

As he took his seat, the boy quickly glanced around the room, his eyes resting on Hiashi for a moment longer than the rest and a grin starting to form on his face. Hiashi felt his ire rise once more but pushed down on it. It was, after all, the actions of this boy that had led him to not only rescue his daughter from a fate most likely worse than death but also the death of the individual who had dared to enact such a fate upon her.

"Naruto," The Hokage said once more, drawing the boy's attention to the elderly ninja. "Could you explain to everyone here your actions on the night of the incident?"

"Mmm…" Naruto hummed as he folded his arms behind his head and his face scrunched in thought. "Not hard to explain… I decided to prank the Hyuuga and when I saw the man with the girl, I thought he was up to no good so I decided to prank him too."

"And how did you prank the man?" The Hokage questioned.

"Well, the only thing I had on me were balloons filled with paint so I threw one at him dattebayo!"

" _So the boy purposely tagged the Kumo bastard with the balloon._ " Hiashi thought to himself. The simple action of having paint on his boot was what had led to the possible ambush of the man after Hiashi had seen to the safety of Hinata.

By the time his brother, Hizashi, had landed alongside the Hyuuga Head, the man was long gone and firmly out of range of both their Byakugan. When Hiashi noticed the footprints, however, a cold pit of anger and determination formed within him.

Giving strict orders to have the entire Kumo delegation apprehended and the Hokage informed, Hiashi had carefully deposited Hinata into the arms of his brother before taking off after the orange footprints.

Pulling his thoughts away from the memories of that night, Hiashi caught only the tail end of Naruto's not-quite interrogation by the Hokage.

"I threw it at his feet 'cause I was hoping to trip him but I also knew that if he didn't fall down, he would leave a trail with my special blend of orange paint dattebayo!"

"I see," The hokage replied, once more steepling his fingers. Other than Nara Shikaku, the others were staring at the boy with narrowed eyes, as if seeing him in a whole new light. " _I suppose_ ," the Nara thought to himself. " _they are seeing him differently._ "

As the Hokage prepared to dismiss Naruto so that the assembled shinobi could further debate their plan going forward, the boy spoke up as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Ano sa, ano sa Jiji, did you guys handle the pervert?!"

Shikaku almost choked when he heard Naruto's question and, as he looked around the room, he noted the varied expressions on the faces of the other occupants inside the office. The Hokage, who seemed the least perturbed by Naruto's line of questioning simply stared at the boy for a moment or two.

Naruto began to fidget after a moment of silence meeting his question. By the second minute of the Hokage's silence, he began to look around the room, confusion firmly set within his eyes as he wondered why no one was answering him.

"Why do you think he was a pervert, Naruto?" The Hokage finally asked as his former team mates looked on curiously. They were well acquainted with the many minute signs of emotions that the Hokage was exhibiting as he posed the question to the young boy. Curiously, they both thought, it was a strange mix of hope, pride and shrewd calculating.

"Mmm, I kind of remember that thing that happened in Fire Capi.. er… Capitan?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

The Nara Clan Head was making the connections immediately. Naruto had obviously meant Fire Capitol and, in conjunction with the keyword "pervert", he began to draw a conclusion of where the whole thing was heading. Amazed once more at the unorthodox way Naruto interpreted things, Shikaku eagerly answered the boy's half question.

"The Fire Capitol, you mean?"

"Is that were the Fire Lord Person lives?"

Chortling to himself at the way Naruto was incapable of giving the proper amount of respect to anyone or any title, Shikaku simply nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yeah! That!" Naruto exuberantly exclaimed. "You know that thing with that person who tried to steal a girl from the big house thing?"

Comprehension dawned on Hiruzen as he sat back in his seat, his mind moving a mile a minute. For the less than genius level ninjas that occupied the room, their stare alternated between the boy, Shikaku and the Hokage as they tried to comprehend what, exactly, was happening.

Smiling genially at the young boy, Hiruzen called for his assistant as he made an impromptu plan to not only save Hiashi's life but also save Konoha from losing face and pulling down the prestige of Kumo, all in one fell swoop.

After arranging for Naruto to have an all-expense paid trip Ichiraku Ramen, the Hokage was able to once more address the various individuals in his office. Naruto had been only too happy to drop whatever line of thought he had when he discovered his good fortune of a ramen buffet.

"Hokage-sama," Hiashi began, his earlier anger and frustration momentarily forgotten as he was completely and utterly bewildered by what was happening.

Hiruzen held up a hand to stop Hiashi and to forestall any further questions that was coming his way. A quick glance of Shikaku showed that the Nara was also well aware of the implications of Naruto's offhand comments and misunderstanding of the situation.

"Naruto has presented us with a golden opportunity," The Hokage finally said.

* * *

As Hiashi relaxed inside his study in the Hyuuga Clan Compound later that night, his head swam with the information that he had received from the Hokage, even as his heart was afloat with relief. His face, of course, showed nothing but the eternally stoic façade of the Hyuuga.

The conversation following the Uzumaki boy's departure had been most enlightening. While he had been able to glean some understanding from the boy's nonsensical ramblings, the Hokage and the Nara had both seen to the heart of his assertions that the Kumo Head Ninja was a pervert.

What had followed was truly a masterclass in inter-nation politics and shinobi deviousness.

The Hokage brought their attention to the incident in which Naruto had been referring to. Specifically, the incident involved a man who had broken into the home of one Fire Country's nobles and kidnapped a girl.

The girl in question, Kaho, was a relative of the Daimyo and he had immediately dispatched his Guardian Ninjas to track and capture the man and return Kaho to her home. It had taken next to no time for the Guardian Ninjas to return to the Daimyo with the perpetrator.

While the Daimyo had initially suspected a ransom plot, as the man who had been apprehended turned out to be a member of the Land of Earth's nobility, it had come out to be nothing more than the man being a pervert of the worst kind. Specifically, he had an inclination towards girls who were far too young.

Furious at what Kaho had been put through, though she had been recovered so quickly that the man had not had the time to force himself upon her, the Daimyo had ordered the immediate execution of the man. Given his closeness to the Earth Daimyo's court, the situation would have quickly become sticky had the Fire Daimyo publicly denounced that perverts who preyed on children would be given no quarter in his land.

The Earth Daimyo, who had foreseen the potential political backlash that would occur upon his country should it become apparent that he was siding with a pervert who preyed upon children, ended up being very vocal of his approval of the Fire Daimyo's decision.

While the Konoha nin had been solely focused on the ninja aspect of the abortive abduction, Naruto had pulled their attention to the more mundane aspects of it. Simply put: an older man, trained as a strong ninja, had used his abilities to take a young girl from her home for purposes unknown. The conventional wisdom that all the ninja in the room had failed to see was that the Kumo Head Ninja's actions could be easily associated with those of a pervert kidnapping his prey to do who-knows-what with.

The Hokage had drawn up a letter petitioning the Daimyo to intervene on their behalf while Shikaku had explained their course of action; portray Konoha as sincere in their quest for an alliance with Kumo, portray the Kumo delegation as being upstanding individuals, portray the Kumo Head Ninja as an individual with a perverted motive for kidnapping Hyuuga Hinata and, most importantly, portray it in such a way that the Konoha nin bore no ill will for sending someone who preyed on little girls into their midst.

By publicly laying these claims before the Fire Daimyo, it would take little to no time for rumours to reach the general civilian populace of Konoha's benevolence in the face of almost losing a little girl to the perverted machinations of Kumo's Head Ninja.

The Hokage had also commanded Rokusaburo to have SENBU begin spreading vicious rumours of supposed victims of the Kumo Head Ninja's deviance. While holding little truth, sensational rumours such as these would spread quickly among the civilian population and put even more pressure on both the Lightning Daimyo to intercede and the Raikage to release his demands upon Konoha.

Kumogakure no Sato may have been compromised almost entirely of ninjas but they still depended on both the goodwill of the Lightning Daimyo's and the willingness of civilians the world over for missions that they used to fund their village. The idea was to set them on the back foot by throwing Konoha's claims at them and, should they attempt to refute it, make it appear as if they were taking the side of a pervert who preyed on children.

No matter how hardline the Raikage was, he would be smart enough to know that most civilians did not like people who preyed on children and would see his continued demands for reparations from Konoha as a succinct approval for perverts who preyed on children. This would earn his village a terrible reputation that would eventually lead to lower support from the Lightning Daimyo and civilian population.

Hiashi sighed internally as he wondered what would have happened had Naruto not been there. He could not bear thinking of the possible outcomes should Naruto not have been there. Hiashi might have missed confronting the Kumo Head Ninja and he might have escaped with Hinata. Another possibility which was all too real for him was the possible death of his brother, Hizashi.

When Hiashi had returned to the compound, the family had been in upheaval with the announcement that Hizashi, on command of the Main Family Council's orders, was to surrender himself to Kumo in place of Hiashi. When Hiashi had learned of this, everyone had vacated the area around him as his face turned to a stony countenance and he had resolutely marched to the Council Chambers and put them all straight. He was, after all, the Head of the Clan. The Council of Elders had completely overstepped their bounds and they would know his fury for a long time to come.

Deciding then and there that the Hyuuga Clan owed Uzumaki Naruto a two-fold debt, Hiashi called for someone to bring his brother to him. Perhaps they would be able to mend the rift that had grown between the Main and Branch families.

If there was one thing that Hiashi had learned from this entire ordeal, it was that strength could come from the unlikeliest of places and, as he had personally witnessed the willingness of Hizashi to sacrifice his life for his older brother and the attempt of the Hyuuga Council to usurp authority from the Clan Head, he was determined that now was the time to bring his unlikely allies closer to him.

* * *

Present Day –

Jiraiya leaned against the wall next to the window he had entered by, his slack-jawed face was a testament to how absurd the whole situation had become.

He had, of course, heard rumours about the Kumo pervert who had supposedly abused many young girls while dispensing his duties as Kumo's Head Ninja but he never would have guessed the origin of the rumours.

His spy network had been so solely focused on gathering intelligence only on things surrounding Konoha that he had simply assumed they had not found the information important enough until it was too late.

Additionally, the Kumo Head Ninja was a ninja, after all, and knew how to cover his tracks. Now, however, that he knew the whole story, Jiraiya was well and truly amazed at the sheer audacity and deviousness of the Hokage's plan.

Gathering himself, he mentally sought his calm center, Jiraiya ambled over to the seat in front of the Hokage's desk and sat himself down heavily.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly, Jiraiya looked at his teacher with new found respect. He had always known the man as a powerful shinobi and was keenly aware of the Hokage's prowess at politicking but even he had no idea at the depth of the man's ability.

And he didn't even want to get started with how the whole thing would have gone pear shaped without Naruto's help, however indirect it may have been.

"So, what's the brat up to now?"

Smirking to himself again as he imagined Jiraiya's expression, Hiruzen casually leaned forward and rested his chin on his interweaved hands as he laid his elbows on his desk.

"You mean…" Hiruzen drawled. "Tokubetsu Genin Uzumaki Naruto?"

Hiruzen could literally see the gears turning inside Jiraiya's head as he processed the little tidbit of information.

Not for nothing was Jiraiya considered one of Konoha's finest as barely a second had passed before his mouth dropped open, his jaw nearly sweeping the ground.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Hi guys. Apologies for the long time between chapters. I've been debating and writing plot points for the fic for a good while now but simply had not had the time to sit down and write until recently.

At this moment, due to me lacking the time to write, I'm writing single stories that can almost stand alone but can also tie into the entire Genius Hidden in the Leaves world. Please do let me know what you think.

As I have done this almost entirely in one sitting, please excuse any and all mistakes and the poor quality of writing. I hope that you enjoy this second chapter regardless.


End file.
